Album Review: Between the Buried and Me – “Coma Ecliptic Live”

There’s nothing like seeing a band perform live. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible, so we turn to the next best thing: live recordings from those shows. More specifically, we listen to Between the Buried and Me’s Coma Ecliptic Live.

Between the Buried and Me’s music is similar to Queen – it’s complicated, it’s understated, and it’s really impressive. There are long instrumental parts throughout the album, but this band knows how to pull them off; they’re not boring or annoying and they just enhance the story line. They’re also able to maintain the same high level of energy that’s in the first song all the way through to the last, without breaking it somewhere in the middle of the album. “Rapid Calm” shows just how professional this band is. The song is more than eight minutes long, and gets quiet at some points and very loud and fast at others; there’s never any fluctuation in concentration from any of the band members. “Memory Palace,” clocking in at more than nine minutes long, is just as carefully performed from the first note to the last and has some of the best guitar work on the entire album. “King Redeem/Queen Serene” is a really fun song that just makes you want to move to the rhythm. “The Coma Machine” and “Node” are two more great songs.

Between the Buried and Me gave 120% to this performance from start to finish, an effort which will absolutely be recognized by fans. Coma Ecliptic Live was recorded on October 4, 2016 at The Observatory North Park in San Diego and will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray, CD, and digitally on April 28.